Your Name Here Twilight version
by Daughter of Lestrange
Summary: After a huge blow up, Edward and Bella have seperated. Her replacement? YOU! Insert your name into the parentheses and become Edward's new love interest.
1. Chapter 1

Edward was slowly driving to the address that () had given him. Part of him wanted to go faster to pick her up, but he was in no hurry to see where she lived. () was in a foster home with quite a few other children. She was on the verge of being seventeen and was the oldest there. She had shown him pictures of herself at home and it had looked terribly small. It also looked dirty. The woman who she lived with was single and had obviously taken in more kids then she could handle.

There were times that () came to school with bruises on her. She always told Edward she had been playing rough with the boys or had simply been clumsy. He was still suspicious. He had been around humans long enough to know when they were lying. He'd also been around Bella long enough to know what bruises on a clumsy person looked like.

Edward sighed when he thought of Bella. She had been gone almost a year now, but he remembered the day she left like it was yesterday. As Nessie had gotten older, she had grown closer to Jacob, yet things had changed suddenly. Alec had run from Volterra, finally escaping Aro's grasp. He hadn't a clue where to go, except to the Cullens. After thoroughly interrogating him, Carlisle agreed that he could stay. Edward, Bella and Nessie had gone to the main house for a visit. Nessie was absolutely swept off her feet by Alec. Perhaps it was the fact that he seemed so broken and she wanted to fix that. Maybe it was that he was a bit dark and extremely old-fashioned. Whatever it was, Nessie had stuck to him. Alec not only had a new life now, but a new girlfriend.

Jacob had been crushed. Edward and Bella had tried to explain to Nessie the reason her furry older brother was too hurt to even look at her. She had felt quite sad then, but wasn't willing to give up Alec. While the new couple was away, Edward began arguing with Bella over it. It was he worst of many fights they'd been having.

He thought that Alec should go out and find his own girlfriend and forget about stealing Jacob's. Bella wasn't about to let that happen. Nessie was a free spirit and could see who she wanted to. It was enough that she had hurt Jacob, Edward had said. Why should they let Nessie? She was meant to be with him. She wouldn't last long with Alec, he was just new and exciting right now. Bella had let him know that her own father hadn't been too pleased with her dating Edward. What if she had listened to Charlie and been with Jacob instead? Horribly stung, Edward had sarcastically suggested that maybe she should have. That way he wouldn't have killed the human he loved and lost his virtue to somebody who he only fought with. Sobbing, Bella called his bluff and had run off to La Push. After ten months, she was still there.

Alice had come later. She had seen the blow up in her mind and wanted to know what, if anything, she could do. Edward wanted to know what would happen if he took Bella back. Something about Alice changed then. It was rare that he saw her truly angry and she certainly was.

"Don't," she had said fiercely. "Edward, I love you so much and I'm telling you this because I do. Bella takes advantage of you. I don't know if you aren't seeing it or simply ignoring it, but the rest of us can. She's realized that no matter what she does, whether it's stepping on your morals or actually hurting you, if she cries hard enough, you'll come running back. Do you remember five years ago on your wedding night when you were such a nervous wreck about giving her your virtue? You did, you hurt her and told her no more. She began crying and it broke you and you gave in, even though you felt in your heart that it was wrong. I believe that was the beginning of it. You were concerned for her having Nessie and you didn't want her to. You were a lot more firm about that, but she pushed you and pushed you until you broke again. She has you wrapped around her little finger Edward. Sometimes it's very subtle and sometimes it isn't, but all of us can see it. Even Carlisle and Esme have started noticing it. So this time Edward, please, don't give in. If she wants you as badly as she claims, she'll come back on her own and try to work with you. If not, then she isn't worth much anymore. I'm sorry to be so blunt Edward, but it had to be said – and believe me, I'm being worlds nicer then Rosalie would have been."

She had left him alone with his thoughts then. He didn't want to believe it. Still, he couldn't help seeing the truth in Alice's words. She was the one he trusted most in their family and he knew she never would have said a thing like that unless she knew it to be true. So, he waited. Whether Bella felt that she was punishing him or was simply pouting, Edward couldn't tell, but she hadn't come back. He was sure that she was with Jacob now – that any day the divorce papers would arrive. After taking a good hard look at their marriage together, Edward knew it was true. He felt betrayed and angry. It eased his pain to look at things with new eyes and decided to move on. He had spent too much of his eternity with Bella. Whether she actually served him or not, Edward put himself back on the market for a woman.

She came in the form a small sixteen year old girl whom he met atLake QuinaultHigh School. The Cullens had begun going to the high school in the town directly under Forks. They found it amusing that nobody recognized any of them. One of the girls, they soon realized, was a halfing like Nessie. She was struggling though. She was pretty and many of the human girls disliked her. On the other hand, she was horribly poor, so the good-looking humans wanted nothing to do with her. There were no vampires in this town that she could connect with before the Cullens had arrived. She seemed reluctant to talk to them – after all, even though they were all very personable, most people could tell they were wealthy. She seemed to have decided that they were as petty as the rich humans.

As Edward made his way into class, he saw that their teacher had rearranged the seating. He found himself next to (). He'd been happy at first. The Cullens had decided that they wanted to help her but were debating on how. Now they had a way. As he approached her, he saw that her head was down, her shoulders shaking slightly. He couldn't read much of her thoughts, but enough to know that something had deeply upset her. He set his things down and gingerly put a hand on her back. Alice came in then and she was in front of them. She gave Edward an exaggerated sad face.

"Hello," he said softly. "My name is Edward Cullen. My sister Alice is sitting just ahead of you. We're like you, if you understand what I mean by that. Are you alright?"

() only sniffed and turned away from him.

"Aw baby, please don't be like that," Alice told her sweetly. "We'd like to help you. Everybody needs a friend, right? But we can't do anything if you push us away." She gently took the girl's warm hand in her freezing one.

() whimpered, then slowly sat up. She wiped her eyes off on her sweatshirt sleeve and sniffed again.

"There's really nothing you can do, but thanks for the offer."

"Try us," Edward said. "You can't know unless you ask."

"I highly doubt it. I'd feel a bit pathetic asking anyway."

"Everybody needs help sometimes, and oddly enough, most people don't like to ask for it. It's obviously important to you. I can't be that bad," Alice coaxed.

"No? Maybe that's because nobody picks on _you._ I'm the only vampire that gets shoved down by the humans. I'm too sorry to even defend myself. They either make fun of me or hate me, so unless you can knock some sense into them, there isn't much you can do for me."

"You're sure about that, are you?" Alice laughed. "Listen, we understand completely. They say things about us too. None of our family is really related at all. We came together as a clan either by couples, by a mate or by being changed. We have to make it appear that all of us have been adopted. As it is, I'm married to Jasper and Rosalie to Emmett. We aren't only dating the way humans think we are. To them, we're all brothers and sisters who hooked up. If you listen closely you'll hear what they say about us. Some of it's rather innocent bitterness. Some of it's dark – they claim nasty things like incest. The worst are convinced that the five of us are together in some sort of twisted couples share. We're in no way exempt from their jealousy. We can't make them stop, or to back off of you... but we can offer you our friendship. We can help you learn to ignore them."

() seemed very stunned. People even made fun of the Cullens? The wealthiest and easily the most gorgeous ones in the school? It was good and bad to know that no matter what she did or looked like, somebody would always have something rotten to say about her. Still, she decided it'd be a relief to have somebody who understood her.

"I'd like that," she said finally. "I'm (), by the way. I'm sorry I snapped at you a bit."

"Don't mention it. You didn't bite us, so that's something."

She laughed a little then and class had started.

Edward smiled at the memory as he pulled up to her house. Since that day they had only grown closer. () resembled Alice quite a bit, he thought. She was quite friendly and openly affectionate. She laughed easily. She enjoyed teasing Emmett. She also loved to talk. He didn't mind though. Half the time Edward couldn't think of something to say because of how nervous she made him. In many ways, she was the exact opposite of Bella.

The happiness dissolved a little as he got out of the car. He stared at the dingy little house and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Even outside, it was quite dirty. The yard was big, but was sprouting many weeds and fallen brown leaves were up to his ankles in every direction. Tons of toys littered the porch. The paint was peeling badly and some of the screens covering the windows were torn. In several places, the wood was coming off the house. It was no wonder she was always reluctant to come home.

He went to the door and rung the bell. It didn't surprise him that it was broken. Praying that it wouldn't collapse, Edward knocked on the door and patiently waited for somebody to answer.


	2. Chapter 2

After a couple minutes, the door opened. Edward was confused for a second. There didn't seem to be anybody there. Finally he glanced down and saw a boy no taller his mid-thigh standing there. He was in his diaper and carrying a sippy cup. The little one had a few bruises on his chest, a scratch by his left eye and his cheeks were flushed red.

"Hello there little man,"Edward smiled. "Is your big sister () at home?"

"Derek? What do you think your doing? Get over here!"A very large woman rushed over, shoving the small boy back by his forehead. He whined but she ignored him. She had extremely long, unkempt, greasy brown hair that was thinning in places. She had horrible bags and dark circles under her eyes. Her teeth were straight but terribly yellowed. "Who are you?"

Edward was a bit surprised at being snapped at but didn't say anything about it. "Hello. My name is Edward. I'm a friend of ()'s. I was hoping that she could spend time with me today."

The lady sighed, seeming annoyed. "We'll see." She moved to let him in, opening the door wider.

There were three little boys behind her. She nearly stepped on one of them. "Get out of the way! Why do you guys have to be right underfoot all the time? One of these days you're going to get really hurt doing that and I won't feel sorry for you, either." With that, she waddled off.

Edward couldn't believe his ears. The poor boys were only curious. They obviously didn't get many visitors. He remembered Nessie always having to be right at the door whenever somebody rang the bell. It was only natural.

He stepped inside. The house smelled terribly. It was fairly dark inside, Edward noticed. There were no lights on, just the blinds open on the small grimy window. To his left was a little entertainment center with a dingy, small TV. Videos were strewn across the stained shag carpet. The sofa and loveseat were obviously leftovers from sometime in the sixties and were falling apart. There were toys and all sorts of old wrappers and trash littering the floor. The living room was only slightly bigger then a large bull. In front and to his right was the kitchen and then a very small hallway in which he could see an impossibly tiny bathroom and three bedrooms. The master bedroom was down a short hall to his left just beyond the TV. Edward had never been claustrophobic in his life but was now starting to feel that way.

He looked back at the boys. Derek, who had originally been scolded, looked to be about three. The older boy was four, he guessed, and the little one was just a few months into his second year. They were all a bit banged up and very dirty. The little ones were only in diapers and the four year old in bright orange shorts. Edward wished he could take all of them back to Carlisle.

"Hey gentlemen,"he beamed, squatting down."Aren't you all big boys! What are your names?"

The four year old didn't hesitate with an answer. "I'm Austin, I'm four and that's Derek and – and that's Skylar, and look, this is my truck!"The boy shoved a large, red Hotwheels truck in Edward's face.

Edward laughed. "Really?" He lowered the boy's hand so that he could see it. "Oh, that's a _very_ nice truck! Do you like cars?"

"Yeah!"

"I like dinosaurs,"Derek piped up. "I likes green ones! Rooooar!"

"Roooar!"Edward grinned back, tickling the boy's stomach.

He squealed and laughed.

"What do you like, buddy?"Edward asked Skylar.

With his thumb in his mouth, the littlest one replied softly,"Bear."

"Yeah, his mommy gave it to him, but she died,"Austin said, matter-of-factly.

Edward felt very bad then. Skylar didn't seem sad, but it looked as though he missed his mother very much. He didn't understand that she wasn't coming back. He handed Edward 'bear', which was actually more of a blanket with the plush head of a bear in the center and four little feet at the corners. It was supposed to have been very soft terry-cloth material, but it had gotten crusty from not being washed.

"He's a very special bear, isn't he Skylar? Does he give you hugs from momma?"

The boy nodded. Edward waved the blanket's foot at him.

"Look! He says 'hi, Skylar! Hello friend, I love you!'"

Skylar grinned and giggled. Edward made the bear give the boy a big kiss. Skylar hugged him around the middle and pushed the blanket up to Edward's face.

"Did bear give me a kiss too?"

"'Es."

"Edward?"

He turned around. "()! Hello. I was just getting to know your charming foster brothers, here. They're all very good boys, huh?" He gave the blanket back to Skylar. He stood and gave her a big hug. "How's my baby?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm ok."

There was something in her eyes that told him the opposite. Edward kissed her forehead. "We'll talk later, alright?"he whispered. She nodded again, then he said, "Ok. Come on, let's get you out of here."

He went to the door to open it for her. () began to follow but a harsh voice from behind stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Her foster mother stood there, looking like an angry hog about to charge at somebody for stealing it's dinner.

"I'm going to Edward's."

The lady laughed sarcastically."I don't think so."

"What? But yesterday you said that I could!"

"Yeah, well, that was before I realized how much you had to do. You've just been laying around on your lazy ass all week!"

"I've been sick!"

"And you expected me to wait on you hand and foot. Don't you think I have enough to do without having to bring you something every fifteen minutes?"

"I asked you for water once! I threw up in the bathroom and you made _me_ clean it up! You told me I didn't I have to do anything until I felt better, then you said I could see Edward today and get back to my chores tomorrow."

The woman shrugged. "I changed my mind. If you're well enough to be going places with him, you're well enough to help out around here."

"That isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair babe, get over it."

() whimpered, hot tears falling down her cheeks. She turned around to say good-bye to Edward, who was gripping the handle of the door so tightly, he'd started leaving the indents of his fingers in it. She took a step toward him, but was grabbed back by her ponytail.

"How dare you defy me?" Her caretaker yelled.

"I wasn't! I was just going to say good-bye!"

"Like hell you were. Do I look like that big of a fool to you?"

() glared at her. "You know, as a matter of fact..."

She was cut short by a fat hand smacking her across the face."Don't you even think of sassing me!"

"Enough!" Edward yelled. He went to stand by (), his eyes darker and furious. He put a protective hand on her shoulder. "Get in the car."

"Edward, I..."

"Get in the car, ()." He said more firmly. He gave her a gentle shove toward the door. "Go on, love. Trust me, everything will be ok."

She glanced up at her foster mother's beet red face, then bolted for Edward's Volvo. Even if her "mom" had been thin, () was so quick about it that she wouldn't have been able to stop her.

"You are in huge trouble, young man. I don't know who you think you are -"

"I know who I am, thank you." Edward said coldly. "I'm the one who's going to get her out of this pathetic excuse for a house and take her to a place where there are people who will respect her and love her as a human being and not like the piece of garbage you treat her as."

"Excuse me?" The woman laughed. "If you take her, I'll have you arrested for kidnapping."

"You can try that. Once they hear our side, find out that she left willingly and come investigate this pig sty, that case will come apart like toilet paper in a rain storm. Speaking of which, I need to make a phone call. Child abuse isn't treated lightly in this state. I'd say you have about ten minutes maximum to clean up what you can around here or to run like hell. I wouldn't go with the latter, since the police would add child abandonment to the charge."

The lady made to slap him, but Edward caught her wrist. "That's not very lady like. I'm going to walk out of here and you are free to throw whatever you like at me, but that would be assault. You'd be digging your own grave and, judging by your physique, I would imagine you wouldn't be able to get back out without a ladder."

He turned and strode out of the house then, as if nothing had happened at all. He was halfway to the car when he realized that the little boys were all in tears. They would go to a loving home soon though, he reassured himself.

Edward got to the Volvo and opened the back door. He found () there, curled into a ball and sobbing. He climbed in and put her on his lap.

"Oh darling. My precious, precious girl... why did you not tell me things were this bad?" He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Edward, she's going to kill me,"() squeaked. "She's going to kick me out of the house for sure..."

"No she isn't,"Edward said."I am. I am not allowing you to go back in there, understand? You're going to live with my family now."

"Really Edward? Do you mean that?"

Her hopeful smile was the most beautiful thing that Edward could ever remember seeing. "Yes."

She hugged him tightly, sobbing, but for an entirely different reason now.

"Hey, listen love,"he said, rubbing her back. "If you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call. Is that ok?"

() snuggled her nose under his chin and nodded.

Edward grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. "Hello, Chief Swan? Yes, this is Edward, how are you sir? I'm actually not doing very well right now. No. I'm... very frustrated and very angry. Oh, no, no, it isn't Bella! Actually, it's the new one, (). Well, no, it isn't _her_... you see, she's from a foster home. I went to pick her up to hang out with her today and the lady in charge just exploded. She pulled ()'s hair and slapped her. The other children have some injuries too and the house is just absolutely filthy. Would you do me a huge favor and come check this out? Uh, yes, there's quite a few little ones...... () says nine, counting her. Alright. Thank you so much, sir. I'll see you soon. Good-bye."

Edward sat and rocked her while they waited for Charlie and his back-up to arrive. They came in just under five minutes. Edward kissed her cheek.

"Look, angel. Your justice is here."

He slid out of the car, with her in his arms, and went across the lawn to meet Charlie.


	3. Chapter 3

After an hour of Charlie being there, Edward decided to take () home. There wasn't much for them to do once he had gotten her statement and pictures of her injuries. The woman had been handcuffed and placed in the back of a car, screaming. Some of the little ones were frightened, but as soon as they were offered shiny badge stickers and small stuffed animals, they were more then willing to get a ride to the station.

Edward carried her inside the Cullens large mansion. () was in awe. She'd never seen anything even half that nice – not from the inside. Only Carlisle and Esme were home.

"Edward? Hello darling, what are you doing back home? I thought you were going out today,"Esme said, coming to greet them.

Carlisle came up behind her, able to smell ().

"Things changed a bit. Her care giver wasn't about to let her go any place and started abusing her right in front of me. I called Charlie and he's over there right now. I think we're too upset to go anywhere."

"Really? You poor little honey!" Esme rubbed ()'s back. "I'm so sorry. How could anyone do that to somebody so sweet?"

() tried to smile at Esme. She was such a beautiful woman, and Carlisle was equally handsome. () felt very out of place.

"Is it alright if she stays with us?"

Carlisle smiled warmly. "We let Bella live here and she wasn't even in a bad way. Of course it's alright."He patted her head. "It won't take long to get you settled once Alice finds out what's going on. She'll love you to pieces and spoil you rotten."

"No, that's my job,"Edward said.

() smiled then. "Thank you. I promise I won't give you any trouble."

Carlisle laughed. 'Don't worry doll. Some of our own cause a lot trouble. It's been almost a century and we haven't given them the boot." He ruffled her hair. "You look too cute to cause us much grief."

Edward stayed and talked with them a while before Edward took her up to his room. He let her take a shower, which she admitted she didn't always get to do. Even when she did, () told him that she got in trouble for using it more then ten minutes. He made sure she knew that she could stay in it for as long as she wanted to. While she was in the bathroom, Edward tempted fate by raiding Alice's closet. He found outfits in it that he'd never even seen her wear. He took one of those tops and shorts, then went to her drawers and kidnapped one of her many pairs of pajamas.

Edward waited patiently for her to get out. He sat on the alcove under his window, staring at the rain. He was thinking about Bella again. Edward wished he hadn't given her his virtue. He should've listened to his family all those years ago and waited. He shouldn't have attached himself to the first human who smelled overly appetizing – or the first whose thoughts he couldn't read. She had been very interesting for awhile, but looking back on it, their relationship had never been truly happy. Both of them had been terribly lonely and attracted to one another. Protecting each other had given them something to do under the illusion of love. Why hadn't he listened?

Edward suddenly found himself tackled but a wet mass. () had crawled up onto his lap, her wet hair dripping all over him.

"Hi,"she grinned.

"Hello," Edward laughed."You surprised me. Come here, you."Edward tucked her into the fetal position onto his lap, letting her bury her face in his shoulder. He kissed her forehead."Are you happy here?"

() nodded."Your parents are so nice. I wish you could've met mine too. From what I remember, they were wonderful. I know they would've loved you."

Edward's face fell a bit. He didn't really remember his parents, so there wasn't much to miss. He certainly remembered his mother a bit more clearly because of photographs that sometimes struck little memories. Yet Edward had never truly grieved for their loss and no longer felt the need to.

"I'm sure that they would have, love. My biological parents would have been very pleased with you as well, especially my mother. I'm sure that you would have become her baby too."

"Maybe wherever they are, they're all happy together."

"Maybe," Edward agreed.

"My mom is showing yours embarrassing baby pictures of me, I bet."

He laughed."Luckily, I was a bit before the invention of any decent camera, so I won't have that problem."

"Do you have any pictures of you dressed... old?" () asked.

"Old? You think I'm old?"Edward tickled her stomach, making her giggle. He smiled too. "Unfortunately, yes I am – and yes, I do, in fact. Would you like to see them now?"

He lifted her up and carried her to Carlisle's office when she said yes. Edward explained to him what they were after and Carlisle let them know that it wouldn't be a bother for them to stay. Edward had to hunt a bit to find them, then came back and put her on his lap again.

"Now, these are all very old. We've had them all carefully laminated onto the paper, but they can still crack, so don't press on them to hard."

() nodded, letting Edward open the old leather bound album with yellowing pages.

"This is one of the oldest photographs on earth. That's because Carlisle is one of the oldest beings around. This is one of the first ways of permanent photography. It took a very, very long time to capture the image because it had to embed itself onto a steel plate first. See? That's Carlisle. This was taken in 1670."

"Really? Wow, I didn't know there were cameras then!"

"If you could really call it a camera," Carlisle laughed, from his desk. "It was extremely primitive. I'm not sure why I even had that one done."

Edward turned the page, pointing t each picture as he explained it to her. "That's a little bit better. This is the middle of the 1800's. That's Carlisle again, of course. These over here are the beginning of regular photography. They developed glass plates then and came up with mobile darkrooms. This is the later part of that same century. This one is the first of color photography."

"Seriously? I don't see much color though," () said.

"Yes, it's been exposed to air for too long now. It's faded since it was taken, but there wasn't even much color then. These are what they called wet-glass and it cut picture taking time in half. It was instant, but took more to develop. From there it just got better, but it was still black and white. It was extremely popular in the late 1800's and early 1900's and this," he said, turning the page, "unfortunately, is me."

() burst out laughing. "That's _you?_ Oh Edward, you look nice, but... but..." she was overcome by laughter.

Carlisle was laughing too. He came over to see what the fuss was. Edward tickled her side.

"You think that's funny, do you? Huh?"He blew a raspberry on her neck.

"No, I think it's hilarious!"

He gasped dramatically."I'll have you know I was very distinguished back then."

"Very,"she replied sarcastically.

He turned the page.

"Aw, who's that?"

"That's my brother Jasper's old army photo. He's a little embarrassed to admit it, but he was a confederate back in the day. That's my sister Alice, down there."

"She looks so sad."

"Yes, she would. This picture was taken upon her admission to an old asylum. People back then were very close-minded about anything that was out of the ordinary. The only answer they saw was to lock them away. Alice has only one photo of herself with long hair, but she keeps it someplace very safe. They chopped it off like this when she became a patient."

"Poor Alice, I didn't know that. You're always saying how funny she is – I didn't expect her to look this way."

"Hold your horses a minute, then. On this side is my brother Emmett and his wife Rosalie."

() began laughing again."Wow...was she attacked by a wallpaper salesman?"

Carslisle and Edward both had to join her in laughter.

"Rosalie's family was very wealthy and she was always very pretty. We only have a few photos of her in here, but she has boxes of them in her room. You're right though, a lot of her dresses were pretty awful! Just don't tell her that or you won't live very long. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of Emmett as a human."He turned the page again.

"Oh, how neat!"() gasped.

"I thought you'd enjoy this. These, obviously, are all of our wedding photos. See, there's Alice's smile! There's Carlisle and Esme, who we don't have many pictures of either."

"Hey, that isn't old!"

"Oh, yes... that's Bella and I. I didn't think one of these would make it in here."

"That's Bella? She looks...nice. I guess."

Edward laughed."It's alright, you don't have to be so polite."

"How did you ever end up with her? She isn't, well..." () didn't want to finish. She was afraid of offending him too much.

"Isn't what? Really sweetheart, it's fine."

"She isn't very pretty. She looks sort of, I don't know, mean. She just doesn't look happy."

"She was missing her best friend at the time. I agree though. I didn't realize it at the time, but I suppose she doesn't look like a very nice person there."

() cuddled him."Do I look nice?"

"What kind of question is that? I wouldn't be with you if you didn't look like a nice girl!"

"But you were with her."

"Yes, and I learned my lesson about dating women who hardly ever smile too," Edward kissed her nose.

They went through the rest of the book, Carlisle and Edward both laughing at themselves with her. Edward put the book back and () nosed around Carlisle's office, asking questions about almost everything. She finally came back and hugged him. Carlisle picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"Look at you, you certainly are a sweet little thing, aren't you? Very curious too! I know we're going to enjoy having you with us. You are such a doll."

() beamed up at him before he gave her back to Edward."What do you think? Would you still like to do something this afternoon?"

"Yeah. I'm ok now. I just don't want to think about it."

"Alright. You'll have to change then, I don't think you'll be accepted to most places in pajamas, baby."

She laughed then scurried back to his room to switch clothes.

He was about to leave when Carlisle said, "Edward, I really think that this will be the last one. I believe she will give back to you much more then Bella could have. Do what you can to take of her. She really is a darling and I can see you mean the world to her. Bella was too independent, but () won't stray far from you for anything."

"Yes, sir. I really think she's the one too. I only wish I hadn't invested so much in Bella. I would have liked to give that to ()."

"Half infatuation and half desperation is always a deadly mix for any relationship. Bella was a nice girlfriend, but I have to admit, even I was completely shocked when you actually married her."

Edward sighed."Was she really that bad?"

"She wasn't a bad girl," Carlisle replied."But bad for you, yes."

"Why did no one tell me?"

"You wouldn't have listened at that point."

"I suppose not. How do I know – for future reference? I thought I did with Bella, but apparently not."

"You really have to search your heart, Edward. I believe that somewhere inside you, you were unsure about her. Sometimes it's good to listen to the negative things you feel. They can tell you something very important. I think the first sign should have been that she was extremely attractive to dogs."

Edward had to laugh at that.

"It sounds like you have a date now, son. We'll talk later."

"Thank you,"Edward said, then left to scoop up () and take her back to the car. He tried to listen to anything negative that might creep into his head, but heard only silence.


	4. Chapter 4

((Sorry it's a little short.... email me if you'd like to see the photos that inspired that last chapter lol))

Edward took her to lunch first, then to the theater. () couldn't remember ever being in a theater at all and she was very excited. When it was over, Edward took her for ice cream. He tried to keep conversation going so that she wouldn't have to think about that morning. Seeing her cry once was more then enough. When it was getting a little late to be doing much else, Edward took her back home.

"Hello everybody, we're back," he announced, opening the door for her.

"Edward! We were wondering when you'd be back.," Esme said.

"Oh? Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. It's something wonderful actually and we've been waiting to show you!"

"What did Alice buy this time?" He joked, leading () to where the family was huddled.

"A baby!" Alice beamed.

She turned so that Edward could see the tiny pink bundle she was holding. The little one had a tuft of golden hair like Jasper's right on the top of her head. She had bright rosy cheeks and little bubbles were coming out of her tiny mouth. She briefly opened her eyes which were a very clear blue. She nuzzled into Alice's chest and cooed happily.

"Isn't she absolutely perfect? Jasper and I are adopting her. Technically, we _are_ buying her, I suppose, but that isn't very nice. Is it muffin? No, it isn't! That isn't nice!" Alice tickled the baby under chin, making her giggle.

"We are too," Emmett said. "Show him, Rose."

Rosalie turned around, revealing a small blonde boy, clutching a brown blanket with a bear's head.

"Simon?" () gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Rosalie asked.

"He was one of my foster brothers!"

"Yeah, how are you little buddy?" Edward chimed in. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again. What a nice surprise! How did you get him?"

"We were all in a cafe when they had something about a child abuse bust," Alice explained. "They were saying how badly the kids needed new homes, so we called Carlisle and Esme. We went down to the center they were being held in. Once we saw them we just couldn't say no. Jasper and I took this little angel. Rosalie and Emmett took him and another baby girl. Do they have names ()? We picked something out, but if they're already used to something, we can call them that."

"No. She called all of them baby. She didn't want them to get used to a name," () replied.

"I see. In that case, this is Lucy."

"What a pretty name! I think that really fits her," Edward said. "What about you two?"

"They told us that his name was Simon. He's too old to change that, but we like it. I've got our little Maxine over here," Emmett said.

He was holding another pink bundle. This one had dark brown hair and was already sitting on her own. Her dark hazel eyes were shiny and alert. She seemed to be teething to, as she was intent on chewing Emmett's hand.

" They told us that you would be living here too, (). That's even better then I expected. Since you know them, you'll be able to help us out so we aren't fumbling in the dark so much," Alice said.

"Sissy," Simon said, pointing at ().

"I'd love to," she replied to Alice. "What is it baby boy?"

"Sissy, I find momma!"

"You did find a mommy didn't you?" () went to him and kissed his fingers. "And a Daddy too! She sure is pretty isn't she Si?

"Look'et, Momma wash bear! He softie 'gain," he beamed. "Si's happy, sissy."

The Cullen's all looked as if they would cry if they could. () brushed happy tears of her own away.

"I'm happy too, sweetie," she said. "I'm happy too. We have to be very thankful to the Cullens. We have a family now."

Edward and () sat watching the new mothers and fathers playing with their babies. () was too tired from the events of the day to do much else.

Lucy had latched on to Jasper as soon as Alice had handed her over. Carlisle was trying to give them all check-ups and was promptly screamed at when he tried to pry her off Jasper's neck. For a five month old, she certainly was strong. Jasper laid down and put the baby on her back on top of him. She tolerated the prodding much better but was thrilled to hunker down into him when flipped over again. Jasper was keen on giving her many snuggles and kisses. Lucy was, perhaps, the only human that Jasper would never have the urge to kill.

Simon was desperate to cling to Rosalie. She was learning how to do everything with only one arm. He wanted to see everything in the house, but wouldn't be put down for anything. Rosalie didn't mind though. She'd waited so long to carry any sort of baby that it was heaven to her.

He was finally coaxed to leave by Emmett bearing cookies. Rosalie took Maxine then and fed her. She snuck away to give the baby her bath and put her in designer footie pajamas. She returned to find that her husband had created a new game for their son. Simon would try to crawl away, but Emmett hooked his finger in the back of the little boy's shorts and pulled him back on his tummy.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" He kept saying as Simon squealed and laughed.

"Careful, Em," Rosalie scolded. "You're going to give him a carpet burn!"

"I will not, I'm being gentle. Aren't I? Yes, you tell momma you're my tough guy. Yes, you are, my big tough buddy!" Emmett scooped him up in a big bear hug.

"I's tuff! Raaaar!" Simon cried.

"Great," Rosalie said. "Now I have to deal with two of you!"

Everybody laughed. She sat down to rock Maxine to sleep. Emmett decided to play ball with Simon. It was a small, plastic, air-filled ball. Emmett rolled it to his son on the ground. Simon picked it up and tossed it, bouncing it off Emmett's forehead. They all laughed at him, too.

"Nice shot, buddy. Can we keep it on the floor, please? Grandma will be really grouchy if we break something."

"Actually, you should probably get him ready for bed," Alice said. "It's almost eight thirty. Were they in a routine at home, ()?"

"Not completely," she replied. "They were usually asleep between eight and nine."

"Oh, alright," Emmett sighed. "That's the thing dude, as soon as you get married, there's always some woman around to squash your fun."

"If you weren't holding him, I'd squash more then that," Rosalie threatened. "Here, you take Maxie, I'll get our 'tough man' ready for bed. Come here, baby."

Simon raced to her arms. She squished him in a big hug.

"You can be a tough guy later. Right now, you get to me mommy's sweet, little muffin man," Rosalie gushed, taking him upstairs.

"Momma's muffin, momma's muffiiiiiin man!" Simon sang.

"Yes, you're mommy's muffin man."

"Yuck," Emmett said. "Maybe I'll have a tough girl instead. You don't want to be foo-foo, do you Maxie?"

"I don't think Maxine really cares," Edward laughed. "She's too busy dreaming."

"No, she said yes...I heard her! Anyway, I'm going to put her down. She's already sleeping."

"I'll see if I can, too. Hopefully she'll let go while she's asleep," Jasper said.

The other three Cullen siblings went upstairs to get the little ones to sleep. Edward pulled () in close, running his fingers through her hair. She lay on the couch, put her arms around him and her head on his hip.

"Your siblings are so cute," she said. "I'm going to like living here."

"I hope you do. I'm really glad they were able to help some of your other little family out."

"Me too. Simon really wanted a mom and I think Rosalie's perfect. I wonder if he knows the difference – his mom was blonde too."

"I'm sure he does. He's old enough. He's just missed her so badly that he's happy to have somebody who accepts him calling her mother. As he grows, he won't remember any of this. Rosalie will have always been his mom in his mind."

"What about Nessie?" () asked. "Does she remember you?"

"Yes, and she really loves coming out here. Bella's just so bitter that she doesn't like to bring her over."

() gave him a squeeze. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Maybe we can have our own someday."

"I'd like that."() began to fall asleep when a sudden buzzing woke her back up. "Edward, your butt is vibrating."

"What?" He laughed. "Oh!"

He brought out his thin, silver cell phone and opened it. There was a text from Jacob.

_Hey bro. Can we talk? Soon. Thx._

Edward sighed. "What now? Sometimes the day just doesn't end." He wrote back,_ Is it an emergency or could it be tomorrow? Sry. It's been a long day & the gf is nearly sleeping._

Jacob replied, _Sure. In the morning then? It's important._

_No problem. Is nine alright?_

_Yeah. See you then._

Again, Edward sighed. He explained it to (), who agreed to go along. "What has that dog gotten himself into this time?" He wondered.

He carried () to bed and she was soon fast asleep. Edward knew that between the babies cries and his curiosity about Jacob, there would be no chance of relaxing that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Edward was shocked that () slept so well that night. The babies were terribly noisy. Maxine would woke up several times, fussing for milk and then again not too long after to be changed. Rosalie had discovered that Maxine had a bad diaper rash, so until it was better, she and Emmett decided to use cloth diapers. It calmed her and she would fall peacefully asleep again once she was dry.

Lucy was entirely different. She was waking every hour with a high pitched screech. Edward saw Alice go past his door several times with the baby, trying to walk around the house to calm her. Jasper took her outside, but had to bring her in when the wind began blowing the rain in their faces.

The two of them were becoming frustrated. Jasper thought it would be easy to calm her using his added abilities, but Alice didn't want him to. She thought that Lucy needed to learn to do it herself first. Edward didn't want them to begin bickering the first night, so he gave () a kiss, then being careful not to wake her up, went to help the struggling new parents.

"Hello you two,"he said as he entered their room.

"Well it's about time,"Alice returned."I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind without me knowing it."

Edward laughed. Maybe having "seen"that he was coming was what was still holding her together. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know. We've done everything we could think of. Everything that Alice will _let_ me do, anyway,"Jasper replied.

"She does have a point though Jas. If Lucy knows you're the one stopping her crying, she'll begin carrying on until you do something. I know it would be an easy out but for now it really is best that she stops naturally."

"That's easy for you to say. I do not understand how you managed to do it, but Renesmee was perfect. She hardly cried, she was easily amused and she was rarely naughty. It wasn't fair at all."

"Jasper, please. Don't get angry with Edward. It was a blessing to have such a sweet baby. Plus Renesmee was much older and learned more rapidly then these little ones. I think Lucy is only frightened. She woke up in the middle of the night in a strange place then had strange people fussing over her. We're still new to her – she's confused. It's frustrating to us, but she isn't doing it to be naughty."

"I know it, but you'd think that she would have gotten the idea that we want to help her by now," Jasper sighed.

Edward smiled."Yes, you'd think that, but babies have a different mentality. You may be a stranger for a few days. May I see her?"

Jasper nearly tossed her at him. Edward heard his thoughts that a newborn vampire wasn't nearly as much trouble as a newborn baby. At least he knew that Lucy wouldn't rip his head off and burn it for changing her diaper when she didn't want it done. However, Lucy was certainly mimicking their bloodthirsty scream.

"Oh, my, my, my," Edward said softly. "There's no need to make that noise at me. Are you mad that I stole you from Dad-dad? I know you love Jasper, don't you? Yes. If you love him though, you need to stop screaming at him. I know you're scared, love. I know. Shhhhh. You're safe here."He brought his mouth to her ear and gently played with her earlobe."Shhhh. Quiet now lovely. Shhhhh."

Edward kept making shushing noises right into her ear. Within minutes, Lucy sniffled loudly then made a happier sighing sound.

"See, you're alright! We all love you here, cherub. You're perfectly fine."

Lucy sleepily rubbed her nose into his shoulder, putting her tiny fist around his finger.

"Aw, she loves you so much!"Alice said quietly.

"I think she just knows I'm a daddy. She's probably a little more willing to trust me, but that won't last long. After a few days, she'll recognize you too. Then you won't give them such a tough time, will you Lucy? No, you'll be a good girl!"

Edward kissed her little fingers. Lucy yawned, opening her gummy mouth wide.

"P.U., you've got milk breath,"Edward laughed."Yucky. What do you think sweetie? Will you sleep now? If I give you back to momma, will you sleep?"

He very carefully gave her back to Alice. Lucy whimpered, but didn't begin crying again. She nestled down and was soon fast asleep.

"Thank you so much,"Jasper whispered."I'm sorry we disturbed you – and I'm sorry I was a crab."

"It's not a problem. She just needed a bit of extra help."

Edward went back to continue watching over (). He wished he could give her a baby too, but he didn't want what happened to Bella to happen to her. She'd been in enough pain already. Then again, they had quite a few years to decide. He pushed her hair out of her face then laid down, pulling her close to him. Edward shut his eyes, attempting to sleep just to see if he could dream about her.

() was eating breakfast when Jacob rang the doorbell. Edward scooted himself out from under her, as she'd been sitting on his lap, and went to answer it. Simon scurried to the door at the same second.

"I get! I get!"He cried.

Luckily, he couldn't figure out the handle.

"No, no, Si. Don't do that,"Edward said.

"Why?"

"Because you don't know who it is. If it's a stranger, they might be a bad person. We don't want bad people in our house, do we?"

"No."

"No, of course not. You need to wait for an adult, ok? You can help me open the door though!"Edward took Simon's little hands in his and opened the door. "Look, it's Jacob! He's my friend. We can let him in, he's nice."

Simon giggled as Jacob came in. He clapped his hands excitedly."Hiiii!"

"Hey there little friend,"Jacob grinned. "I'm glad you let me in, it's wet outside!"

Edward shut the door to keep the blowing rain out.

"Hug?"Simon held his arms up.

"Sure, come here you!"Jacob lifted him up and blew a raspberry on his cheek, making him squeal."You certainly are a friendly dude. Where'd he come from?"

"Rosalie and Emmett are adopting him. He's one of ()'s foster brothers. Si, can you play with daddy now? Jacob came to talk about boring old people things. You should go have fun."

"Otay."He wiggled away from Jacob."Bye Jakey!" With that, he scampered off.

"Now I want a hug from you, too," Jacob said.

"Really?" Edward laughed, hugging him."To what do I owe this honor?"

"I imprinted again!"

"Are you serious? That's great, man! Where is she?"

"She's..." Jacob started, looking around him. He laughed."I think you shut the door in her face."

Edward went to the door immediately and opened it again. The was a short, pale brunette standing on the porch. She was examining the umbrellas they kept in a large vase.

"Hello," he greeted."I'm sorry about that. You were hiding behind Jacob, I suppose, and he's too big to see around."

The girl poked him in the chest with a large, black umbrella. "You should be. It's freezing out here! Then again, Jake told me you were kind of crazy."

"Well!" Edward gasped dramatically, trying to sound offended. He put his arms around her waist and brought her inside. He held her in front of Jacob. "Does this impertinent little thing belong to you?"

"Yep, that's my girl," Jacob grinned."Are you picking on Edward?"

"Maybe..."

He laughed. "Come here." He took her from Edward and gave her a squeeze. "Will you be nice now?"

"If I don't get left outside again,"she said.

Jacob kissed her nose and put her down."This is Andrea. My imprint, as I've said, and also Seth's new toy."

"Aw, I love Seth. He's so cute! I'm going to start lining girls up to see if he imprints. He'd be such a good boyfriend,"Andrea decided.

"We like him around here too. He was the first to accept us and actually come around to see us,"Edward said.

"I think he just had a crush on Alice,"Jacob grinned.

"And _she_ probably let him inside right away,"Andrea said.

"You're not going to let that go, are you?"Edward asked.

"Not by a long shot, buddy! I have to have something to bother you about. Otherwise, you'd probably think I'm very boring."

"Any human with the nerve to poke me with umbrellas is far from boring in my book."

"You did what?"Jacob laughed."If only I'd known this secret vampire weakness to umbrellas, I would've opened one on you years ago!"

"I can see you doing that too. I can just picture you out there opening and shutting it at me, yelling at me to stay away, or using it as a sword. Maybe we could have used them with the newborns, too. Nothing like a good bumbershoot to the to the chest to stop the undead," Edward replied.

Jacob laughed, but Andrea was nearly beside herself with giggles. She collapsed against Jacob then slowly sank into a nearby armchair, her face beat red from laughing so hard.

"A b-b-_bumbershoot_? Bwahahaha! What kind of word is that? _BUMBERSHOOT!!_" She howled, tears sliding down her cheeks now.

She put her head down on the arm, pounding the chair with her fist. Andrea tried to inhale through her nose and ended up snorting several times. This made her laugh, if possible, even harder. Jacob sighed.

"Thanks a lot for breaking my girlfriend, man."

Edward went to look at her. He knelt down, but when he finally stood up, he said, "You know, I think Carlisle can prescribe something for this."

"Actually, we do this every afternoon – only I'm usually the first to snort."

"Really? Wonderful, now I have to look out for were-pigs too!"

"As if _you're_ so dignified,"Alice called, going past the living room with a baby bottle."Don't listen to a thing he says Jacob. When Edward gets too excited, he passes gas!"

"What?! I do not!"Edward cried."Hey, don't you slink off like that, you come back here!"

Alice took off up the stairs, screaming, Edward going after her.

"Jasper, help! Edward's chasing me again!"

"And you probably deserve it _again_,"came Jasper's voice.

() poked her head around the corner. She'd been helping Alice cleaning the baby bottles and refilling them for the fridge. Edward came back downstairs, grinning when he saw ().

"Is it safe now?"she asked.

"There you are! I was beginning to think somebody had eaten you." Edward went and picked her up and taking her to the sofa."This is my doggy, Jacob. You can pet him if you want."

() giggled. Andrea had finally regained her composure and said, "If you rub his tummy, he'll kick his feet too!"

So, the rest of the day began with everyone becoming fast friends.


	6. Chapter 6

6 MONTHS LATER.....

Edward was startled out of his restful state by () wiggling out from under him. She seemed to have an urgent need to get up. He rolled onto his side and stroked her face. He was shocked to see that it was nearly as pale as his.

"What is it beautiful?"

"I – I just feel sick,"() replied. She began to get a cold sweat on her face.

"Oh, love," Edward said. He scooted over to her, putting her in his lap. Edward put her head on his cold, bare chest. Her skin felt warmer then usual. "Where does it hurt?"

"In my...my..." She whimpered then without warning, vomited over his arm.

He cupped his hands under her mouth, letting her heave into them. He didn't want to get up and was really unsure of what to do. He mentally called for Alice.

In seconds, Alice came rushing in, grabbing Edward's trash bin on the way. She shoved it under ()'s chin. Edward dumped the fluid in his hands into the bucket. Alice went back to Edward's desk for tissues and handed them to him. He wiped his hands off then began dabbing at ()'s mouth.

She finally sank back against him, sniffling. Alice wiped ()'s nose and eyes then kissed her forehead.

"Are you going to be alright, sweetie? You don't feel feverish, just a bit warm, but..."

"Actually, I feel a whole lot better now. This happened yesterday too, but I'm fine once it passes."

"Yesterday morning?" Edward asked.

She nodded. "You were already up."

Alice exchanged a glance with him then after a while of silence cleared her throat. "Not to stick my nose in places it doesn't belong but..um...I mean, I know it isn't any of business, it's just..." She had turned several shades of pale darker.

"What, Alice?"() laughed.

"Put it this way... if you two have been doing anything more then sleeping since you started sleeping together, then you might think about talking to Carlisle." With that, she left hastily, to avoid anymore awkwardness.

Edward sighed deeply as they absorbed what Alice meant. () clutched him tightly. Her big eyes looked hopefully up into his golden ones.

"You don't think I'm really pregnant – do you?"She asked softly.

He held her close. "I don't want to think it, but it _is_ possible."When she whimpered, he kissed her face all over."I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want it to happen this way at all."

"That's what I get for being jealous of Andrea and Jacob."

"Weddings do funny things to people, I suppose. Seeing the two of them so happy together with so much love in the air. I think that's what made me loose myself that night. It doesn't help being able to see Jacob's thoughts... I guess it's no surprise that Andrea's pregnant the way his mind was going, but at least they have a right to be."

"Edward, this isn't your fault."

"If I hadn't been inside you, you couldn't possibly have gotten pregnant. You know, with Bella I was so determined to keep my virtue. There was no way I was letting it go before we were married. I think part of me was just so afraid. I had no idea what would happen and no clue what to even expect out of it. Since I've found out I can do it without hurting you, I've become just like every other disgusting male who can't keep it in their pants before marriage."

"Edward, don't be angry at yourself. Please. I'm just as guilty as you. I could've said no. I guess at heart we're like every other dirty teenage couple that decided to experiment before they should have. Even some junior highers are doing it."

"I know love, but that doesn't make it ok. The younger you are, the more sick that makes the act. The little teens don't have the mental capacity to truly understand what they're doing... it's not that I'm trying to be rude to them, that's actually been proven. But once they're older and in their thirties, they'll realize just how disgusting that really is when they see young ones doing it. I, of all people, should have known better. You're still a baby yourself."

Edward held her and kissed her. They both sat silently, lost in thought.

Finally () asked, "What do we do now?"

"Since we still aren't completely sure, we need to see Carlisle." Edward looked at the clock. "He'll be on his break in two hours – would you like to go then?"

"The sooner the better, I guess."

Then at noon, Edward got her into the car and they went to Forks hospital.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Edward knocked on Carlisle's office door. Carlisle already knew who it was by scent, but it had to be done for any humans who might have been watching. He smiled at the couple from his desk.

"Hello there you two,"he said."What brings you here?"

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Edward frowned.

Carlisle's smile dissolved from the troubled looks on their faces."What is it?"

"She's been getting sick and... we think that we're pregnant."

"Oh no." Carlisle put his hands up to his face. There was a long silence before he said,"Edward Anthony, how could you? What made you do something so foolish?"

"I've been asking myself that all morning sir,"Edward replied.

"I'm not sure you completely understand. Bella's pregnancy was an honest mistake. We had no idea that could even happen. If this one leaks away from our family, the Volturi will return and this time they'll show no mercy – to any of us. I won't be able to do anything to weasel us out of it, in fact, I'm probably the first one they will go after. You've put our entire family in danger, Edward, do you realize that?"

"Not until now, sir," Edward replied miserably.

() whimpered softly, then began to cry. Carlisle sighed. He went to her and took her hands in his.

"Hey now, it's alright. I apologize honey, I didn't mean to frighten you. I just want you to realize the seriousness of what you've done. But this will _not_ leave our family. If nobody else knows, then there isn't any way the Volturi could. We're safe if we guard this with our lives."

"I'm sorry Carlisle,"() squeaked through her tears.

He took her out of Edward's arms and held her. "Darling girl, it really is fine. I'm not angry with you, not at all. I'm only frustrated with the situation. Everything seems to be happening to our family in recent years and I only wish it would happen to somebody else for a change. It's ok though. I love you two no matter what."He took a tissue from his desk and dried her eyes. "Come now, no more tears. It really won't be so terrible. We know what to expect now, so maybe this time we can have fun with it. Ok?"

() sniffed then nodded. Carlisle gave her a huge kiss on the cheek, making her giggle then.

"Let's get you tested then to make this official. Then we can let Alice go crazy buying more baby things."

He led she and Edward to a room and took a few urine samples. He came back shortly with the result that, whether it was a blessing or curse, () was indeed pregnant.


	7. Chapter 7

As the months passed, both () and Andrea got bigger and bigger. It started to look as though they'd have the babies at the same time. Alice was having the time of her life buying things or both of them. Edward had given Jacob and Andrea the cottage. It was filled with too many memories of how he and Bella had been and he didn't want to think of her anymore. He wanted to be able to start fresh with () and knew he couldn't if everyday all he saw were painful reminders of the past. With the cottage now occupied, Edward had a new one built close to it so that the two couples could be neighbors.

Both of the girls had decided that they wanted to be surprised with the gender of their baby. On that note, Alice went with multicolored rooms. They'd given Andrea a (?) room set, along with all of Nessie's old baby furniture. Nessie had been a baby for such a short time that nothing looked as if it had been used at all. The dressers, bassinet, crib and changing table were all old style and white.

Edward and ()'s baby room was patterned with the alphabet and animals, all bright and pastel colors. The furniture was made of a very light colored wood. They had a large crib, three dressers, a changing table and a rocking chair. There was also a smaller bassinet in the master bedroom. Emmett had installed a baby bathtub into one of the house's sinks and Alice had stocked the cupboards of that bathroom with soaps and shampoos, washcloths and towels.

()'s pregnancy went past the time that Bella's had been. The Cullens deduced that the baby was to be more human then not. She was weak, but not nearly to the extent Bella had been. Carlisle had hooked her up to a permanent blood IV to try to reduce that weakness this time. He also kept a close watch on how big her baby was becoming. Once it was fully developed, they could give her a C-section. There wasn't any need to prolong it when the baby could survive on it's own.

Edward was called very late one night. It was Jacob; Andrea had gone into labor that afternoon and had just had the baby. They'd had a little girl, but Andrea had fallen asleep before they could agree on a name. Edward asked for pictures because () had gotten so big that Carlisle put her on bed-rest.

In the week before being 7 months pregnant, they had gone to get another ultrasound. It was finally time to remove the little halfling. He phoned the rest of the family who came to wait outside. Edward got her situated in one of the hospital beds. He kissed her all over her face.

"Are you ready?" he smiled.

"I guess I have to be. Does it hurt?"

Edward felt bad. She had asked him that question a thousand times now. He knew that having a C-section was making her extremely nervous."No baby, I promise you won't feel a thing. I'll be right here. I'll make sure nothing happens."

() took his arm captive, snuggling it. Carlisle soon came back with everything they needed for the birth.

"Staring everything is going to take much longer then actually getting the baby out. Human tools aren't able to get into the uterus when there's a vampire inside you. I made this scalpel when Renesmee lost her baby teeth. It's one of her canine teeth and it'll be able to break through the membrane. That's why I can't have a human nurse in here."

() nodded, eying the sharp tools warily.

"This is what we've got to get in you first; it's an epidural. It goes in your lower back. It'll numb everything from your belly and down."

When she saw the needle, () began to cry. It was bigger then any she'd ever seen. She gripped Edward's arm tight and buried her face into it.

"Oh dear...another squirt whose afraid of needles. You didn't have any trouble with the IV, darling. This is the same thing, the needle is just longer," Carlisle coaxed. "I'm putting this topical on and it'll numb your skin. That's the only thing that has nerves where this needle is going, so it won't hurt you at all."

() whimpered and looked up at Edward.

"He's right,"Edward said.

She sniffed."Ok,"she agreed.

Carlisle put a sticky orange topical cream on her back and let it sit for awhile. He finally told her to lean forward, so he could get it right between her last two vertebrae. He gently poked her with the tip of the needle.

"Does that hurt?" He asked.

() shook her head, so he quickly inserted the needle, then pulled it out, leaving the tube behind in her back.

"There, that wasn't so terrible, was it?"

"No,"she admitted.

"Good. Now you can lay back and we'll wait for that to work."

He let the Cullen family in the door to see her. They couldn't come any farther or else the tools could be contaminated. They gave her advice and praised her where they were for thirty minutes. Finally, Carlisle asked Rosalie if she would be the nurse. She agreed and they decided it was time to start. Carlisle put a drape over () so that she wouldn't be able to see what was going on. He prodded her stomach with a needle.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yes...?" she replied.

Carlisle laughed. "Let me rephrase that. Does that hurt? I know you can feel it, you stinker."

() giggled. "No, it doesn't."

Carlisle took the scalpel and gently pushed it in a little way."What about this?"

When she said no, Carlisle went ahead and plunged it in deep, making the first incision above her bladder. He pulled back the first layer of cut mass, then cut into the rest. He asked Rosalie to hand him the vampire tooth scalpel. He took it and made the final cut into her uterus. He held all of the tissue back while Rosalie put her hands inside of () and gently tugged the baby out. Edward took the scissors and cut the cord. Carlisle tied it then went back in to remove the placenta. He plopped it into the empty tray. He hastily changed his gloves then stuck his hand back inside the cut.

Suddenly, () screamed.

"What is it?" Carlisle gasped."Have I hurt you?"

"No, but...but why isn't it crying? Why isn't my baby crying?!"She sobbed.

He looked to Rosalie who seemed just as desperate for an answer.

"I'm not sure right now, sweetheart. Rosalie, come here. You take my place and get this one out. I'll see to the other."

She gave Carlisle the baby and traded places with him. Rosalie was having trouble getting her hands in the right place because of ()'s shaking sobs.

"Hey, listen. I understand how upset you are hon, but you need to calm a bit for me. You have somebody else inside of you and I can't get to it with you squirming so much."

"What? I do?"

Her tears stopped then and Rosalie quickly removed the other baby. Edward cut the cord again and Rosalie tied it. Carlisle handed the other baby to Edward. Rosalie rubbed the other one all over to get the blood going then handed it to ().

"You did great," Rosalie said."And she's the most gorgeous baby girl I've ever seen!"

"Congratulations, son," Carlisle said to Edward. "Your little boy will be just fine. He tried to breath a bit too early and swallowed some of the fluids inside her. He just needed a little help getting it out."

"A boy," Edward breathed."Did you hear that love? A boy – and he'll be ok!"

(), however, didn't hear him. All the excitement had completely exhausted her and she was fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

() awoke very dazed the next morning. She could hardly see straight. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw Edward sitting next to her with a baby. Her baby!, she remembered.

"Good morning, love," Edward said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Very sore, but alright," () smiled. "Are they ok?"

"Yes, but I can tell they want their mother. The boy slept most of the night, but sissy here was restless. She's hungry and unfortunately hates the bottle."

"She doesn't want the blood?"

"No, she spit it out. Her brother loved it though."

"So, we've got a silent blood drinker and a noisy human?"

Edward laughed. "I suppose so."

As if to confirm it, the little girl in his arms wiggled and began to whine. Little dribbles came out of her mouth and her cheeks reddened. Edward handed her off to ().

"Hello beautiful," she said, holding the baby tight. "How's my angel? Are you giving daddy a hard time? You can't do that, it's my job."

Her little girl held her finger, calmed for a second, then cried.

"I know you need food, but... mama has no clue what to do." She looked up at Edward for help.

"Don't look at me, I don't know anything either," he laughed.

"Really? I just thought that, you know, because you had Nessie..."

"Nessie wanted blood, actually. Bella meant to feed her and she got bit. If you really need help, we can ask Carlisle, but I'm sure we can figure it out. Just like other things," he winked.

() giggled. Edward scooted himself behind her, putting his legs around her so that she was between them and able to rest herself on him. He helped her get her shirt up and unsnap her bra.

"Doesn't she just know what to do?" () asked.

"A bit, but we need to get things going first. From what I read, you have to coax it out." Edward put his hand under her breast. "You need to push down, starting at the top. I don't want to hurt to you – that's something we can't afford to pop."

They both laughed. () did what Edward had told her and soon a clear substance found it's way out.

"That's milk...?" She asked, shocked.

"Not exactly. It's vitamins and other things she really needs. I think that might be what she wants so badly, because she knows she has to have it."

() moved the baby over onto her. The little one greedily began eating her breakfast. () groaned.

"That sort of hurts."

"Is she biting you?" Edward asked worriedly.

"No, it's just really uncomfortable. I guess it will be for awhile."

Edward put his chin on her shoulder, then kissed her neck. They were quiet for a few minutes before he said, "I love you, sweetie. So much. And the babies. I never thought I would have another."

"I love you too. I know we shouldn't have been messing around in the first place, but I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Edward snuggled her. "Do you still like the names we'd picked out? It isn't too late to change them. Carlisle is bringing the birth certificates home this evening."

() shook her head. "No, I like them. I'm glad we can use both."

Edward gently stroked the tiny baby's face. "My darling little Addison Elizabeth."

"Where's Jesse Edward?" () asked. The bassinet next to the bed was empty.

"Rosalie's holding him captive... we may not get him back. Not until he has to be changed, anyway."

They laughed. When Addison was done eating, () got herself put back together. Edward could tell she was feeling very tired. He moved from behind her, fluffing her squashed pillows back up. He took the baby to burp her and let () slowly drift back to her much needed rest.

When she awoke, she was a bit surprised to see Alice standing at her feet. () could feel Alice's cold little fingers on her toes and noticed that her socks were being changed.

"Hello," Alice said cheerfully. She went to hug her. "How's mummy?"

"I'm as good as can be expected, I guess. What were you doing?"

"Edward says I can't dress you up for a while, but I thought I could get away with new socks. What he doesn't notice won't hurt him."

"Or it might come and pop you upside the head, shorty," Edward said from the door way.

Alice humphed. "Fine then, let her feet stink. See if I care. Oh, by the way, fuzzy called. He wants to know if you two are up to visitors. Andrea can leave the house with the baby now."

"That'd be wonderful, but I really think she's too tired right now."

"I don't mind," () said. "Just for a little bit. I want the babies to see their sister."

Edward smiled. "I'll give him a call back then. I suppose you can go ahead and change her pajamas, Alice. Just don't over do it."

Jacob was more then happy to come over. Anything to break the routine was welcome. He and Andrea came bearing balloons and a box that Jacob had obviously wrapped himself. Edward greeted them both and took them to ()'s makeshift bedroom.

"Where are the other squirts?" Jacob asked. "My legs weren't attacked this time."

"Rose and Emmett took them to California. Alice and Jasper are still here but I think Jasper took the baby out for awhile. She gets fussy if she's cooped up for too long."

"Fortunately, ours is easily amused," Andrea said. "She likes mirrors and we've put shiny things around her crib. She'll stare at them for hours."

They went into the room and he girls, of course, had to gush over each other. Edward and Jacob pulled up chairs and sat safely out of the way. Andrea had had the baby in a carrier strapped to her front. She gently undid it and sat the baby up in her lap.

"Aw, she's SO cute!" () said. "I didn't think she'd be so big already. Can she sit on her own?"

"Yeah. She's just about three months but she's extremely determined," Jacob replied.

"She looks just like you," Edward said. "She's absolutely beautiful. Aren't you muffin?"

He smiled at her and wiggled one of her feet.

"Can you say hi? Say 'hi Edward'! Hi!" Andrea waved the baby's hand at him.

She put her other tiny fist in her mouth and giggled.

"Look at that big smile," Edward laughed. He tickled her stomach, making her squeal. She kicked her feet happily, drool running out of her large gummy grin. "Such a happy baby! You're well loved aren't you? "

"Well spoiled," Jacob corrected. "But daddy can't help it!"

"What's her name?" () asked.

"Jaquelyn," Andrea said. "Our little Jackie Sarah. Where are your squirts?"

Edward went to the bassinet. He lifted the little boy and shouldered him. Then he wiggled his arm under the girl and lifted her up as well. He gave her to Jacob. She curled herself up into him immediately.

"Look at that, she loves you!" () said.

"Yeah, she's like 'hey, it got warm over here'," Jacob laughed. "She's so tiny. I was expecting somebody Nessie sized."

"These two are much more human. () was getting weaker though and she could barely get out of bed because she was so big. We decided it was time before it could get as bad as it was with Bella."

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Jackie suddenly screeched, making them all laugh.

"She's just bubbling over with joy, isn't she?" Edward said. "What a cutie. May I trade you?"

Andrea handed him Jackie and Edward gave her Jesse. He whined pitifully, but fell silent when Andrea gave him her finger. He nuzzled into her and fell back asleep.

"He's so precious! Jake, I want sweet little boy like him."

"I do hope you know that men like to poop much more then girls do. And pee – and a girl can't shoot you in the face with it. Besides, I'm plenty sweet."

Andrea wrinkled her nose and they all laughed. Jackie laughed too. Edward sat on the bed so that () could see her.

"Hi pretty girl," she said. "You're so happy! Yeah, you're just like daddy aren't you? So silly! And such a chubby little thing. It looks like somebody's storing nuts for winter!"

Edward tickled Jackie's stomach, making her kick and giggle. He laid her down gently and blew a raspberry by her bellybutton. Jackie screamed in delight.

"Jackie, he knows your favorite game," Andrea laughed. "She likes that on her feet too."

Jacob and Andrea stayed until Carlisle came home. He was happy to see the baby, but Jackie soon became tired and grumpy. Edward suggested that they could stay the night with them, to which they happily agreed. Edward showed them a room and let Jackie stay in the nursery. () wanted the babies close and they were completely dwarfed by the crib anyway. Almost as soon as the couple retreated upstairs, () fell asleep again. Alice came to help Edward bathe the little ones and get them into warm pajamas. They fed them then gently put them into bed. Edward climbed in next to (). He snuggled her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. Not long after, the phone rang. Edward suspected it was the hospital wanting Carlisle back for an emergency. Alice came in, asking Edward if he'd take a call.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Well..." Alice didn't seem eager to tell him. "It's... Bella."


	9. Chapter 9

Edward reluctantly got out of bed and took the phone. Alice quickly ducked out, looking cross.

"Bella?"

"Hey."

"Hey. Do you need something?"

"Not really." For awhile it was quiet. "So... I heard you had another baby."

"Two, actually. Twins. Who told you?"

"Charlie. Does that mean you're married again?"

"No. I will be, but we're not at the moment."

Bella snickered. Edward hated the tone behind it. He had nothing against her – not really, anyway, but apparently she was wishing him the worst. It didn't make sense to him at all. She was the one who had left, and if anybody was entitled to be bitter, it should've been him.

"Wow, Edward,"she said."That's surprising, coming from you. You were just so stubborn about that awhile back. Now it's like you're really seventeen."

"If I want a lecture, I'll talk to Carlisle,"Edward said angrily."I don't need you to patronize me. I could say a few things about you too, but I don't want to stoop that low." More silence. "Why did you call?"

"Honestly? Because I'd hoped it wasn't true." She truly sounded almost sad at this."And because Nessie needs to know. She used to want a brother. I'm sure she'll be happy."

"Probably. Is she there?"

"Not right now. She and Alec have a condo but they like to be here during the day. I'll let her know then."

"Tell her she's welcome to come and see them. You too, if you can behave yourself. Jacob just had a little girl and I know he'd like you to see her."

"Yeah, I heard about that too. I'd like to see her. She sounds really cute. I might see you soon, I guess, but I'll let you get back to watching your little ones."

"Alright. And Bella... I'm sorry. About us. Maybe if we'd talked after you left, it might have been different, but I've made my choice now. It isn't fair to her not to marry her now. She's had a bad life and I'm not going to make it worse. Besides, I really do love her."

"Right. I know. I'll put myself back on the market then. Maybe I'll run into Mike Newton when I come to visit. I'll talk to you later, I suppose."

Before Edward could even say good-bye, she'd hung up. He sighed. He heard small feet coming and stop just outside.

"I know you're there, Alice,"he said.

She poked her head in."Sorry, but I just had to find out what she wanted. So, what was it?"

"Just curious, I think. Charlie told on me, but she would've found out sooner or later."

"Will she be coming back?"

"Nessie will, for sure, but I don't know if she really will or not. I wish she wouldn't. I don't think ()'s strong enough for that."

"Bella wouldn't hurt her in any way, though I'm sure she's thought about it. She'd smart enough not to try that here." Alice's eyes glazed over for a moment. Another one of her visions. Lucy began to cry and Alice was shocked out of it. "Oh dear... I really should go get the baby. Jasper's been with her all day."

"What was it?" Edward asked. Alice's wanting to scoot out of the room so suddenly seemed too suspicious.

"I don't think you'd be interested. Even I wasn't," she replied, getting up.

Edward caught her wrist. "Alice..."

"Fine, then. I don't set much in store by it, but for what it's worth, Bella is crying. Blood, most likely, I don't think our venom can get through the tear ducts. Personally, I can't feel for her. She did it to herself." With that, Alice made her way up to her sobbing child.

Edward laid back down next to (), but he couldn't rest anywhere near what he usually managed.

Nessie had called later the next day. She'd gotten plane tickets and was very excited to see her new siblings. (), however, wasn't.

"What if she hates me, Edward?" She kept asking."I'm that 'other woman' now. She might like the babies, but I just know she'll be mad at me."

"No, she won't. Nessie's a good girl. She's very loving and I know she wouldn't come all the way out here just to give you a hard time."

() had to agree and just wait. Nessie finally showed up, dragging Alec by the hand behind her.

"Daddy!" She practically threw herself onto Edward."I missed you. I love Forks, but I also love the place we just bought."

"I know baby, I missed you too. But, you know I want you to stay where you're happy."

"Maybe once our lease is up we can move back to Washington again." She tugged Alec up closer. "Come on, don't be shy."

"Hello," Edward said.

Alec shook his hand, smiling sheepishly. Nessie's abundance of love and happiness was still very new to him.

"I told you she was a wild one, but you wanted her,"Edward laughed.

"At least I am never bored now,"Alec replied.

"And he's taking very good care of me, daddy. Too good. He spoils me worse then Auntie Alice did. Speaking of which, we brought stuff for the babies."

"Thank you, sweetie. We're going to need a new house just for their toys. They're over here."

Edward led them to the temporary room. () was sitting up, burping Addison. She smiled when she saw her visitors come in. Nessie scooted past Edward to hug her.

"Hi, I'm Nessie,"she said. "I'm the trouble that daddy probably talks about! Are you alright?"

() was shocked, but very happy. "Hey Nessie. I'm (). I'm so glad to finally meet you. I'm so glad you're not, you know, mad at me."

"You've made my daddy really happy again, I couldn't be mad at you! Plus you've given me siblings and that couldn't happen when he and Bella-mommy were together. Sometimes things just stop working. I can't be angry with anyone, especially not you. Now I've got my Bella-mommy and my ()-mommy!"

() laughed. "That's a nice way to look at it." She kissed Addison's forehead. "Can you say hi to your big sissy? Say 'hello, Nessie'!" She waved the baby's tiny fist.

"Awww! She's so cute! Is it ok if I hold her?"

"Of course you can. She'd like that too."

"Nessie, just be very careful. They're more human then not, so they're not as strong as you were. Also, her name is Addison."

"I will be,"she promised as she lifted her up."Hi Addison. Ohh, you're so sweet! I might take you home with me. Would you like that? Maybe?"

The baby squirmed a bit then snuggled down and was still again.

"Yeah, I love you too. You're a good girl! Come here, Alec, come see her."

Alec came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist."Yes, she sure is adorable. She's certainly got a good temperament to let strangers hold her."

Nessie took his finger and put it into the baby's fist. "That's Alec," she told her. "He's your big brother. He used to be royalty, or something sort of equal to it, but he gave it up because he loved sissy. You'll understand much better when you're older – then you can appreciate him like I do."

Addison put Alec's finger into her mouth.

"All she appreciates right now is my salt,"he said."Funny, I always thought it would be Jane who would bite my fingers off."

They laughed. Edward let Alec hold Jesse, who Nessie had to gush over too.

"Ohhh, Alec, I want a baby!"

"You want to be married first, Renesme Carlie. Believe me,"Edward said.

"Yes, father dearest,"she pouted.

"I'm serious. This has been very hard on us. I'm over a century old and it still isn't easy."

"I know that, but..."

"But you wait until you're married and ready. When you're both ready – that makes a huge difference too."

"Ok. Hey, can I give you their presents now?"

"More gifts? Oh no, I don't think their room can hold anymore!" () said.

"These will be their favorites though,"Nessie said.

She handed () the gift bags, one with pink balloons and one with blue. () opened the pink one first. There were several outfits, including a tiny rain slicker and plastic boots. There was also a white, terry cloth rabbit.

"Nessie, you're giving her Bunny?"Edward asked."(), this was Nessie's first stuffed animal. She wouldn't put it down for anything for a long time."

"Really? Aw hun, you shouldn't give this up."

"Nah, it's fine. I'd rather have him be loved again. He's more of a dust bunny at home."

There were more clothes in Jesse's bag and also a large bear.

"That one was mine,"Alec said.

"This is – oh, you can't be serious. Alec, how old is this?" Edward gasped.

"Old enough,"he laughed."Jane hoarded them quite awhile ago. That one is from when they were first produced in Italy. He's a very old man, and to be completely honest, I never took to them. He's been waiting a long time for a good home."

"Oh, Alec, we can't accept this. This is much too precious."

"It's really alright. Jesse is even more precious. They both deserve the best."

"Ok then, if you're sure..."

"I am."

The four of them spent the rest of the day reconnecting and getting to know each other better. () was feeling much better then she had, but by late afternoon was getting very worn out. Alec and Nessie went up to the guest room. () decided to change her pajamas, then nestled down into the bed. As she began to drift off, Carlisle came home. He opened the door and judging by the voices, he wasn't alone. She heard Edward groan slightly, but he got up from the bed.

"What's going on?" () asked sleepily. "Who is it?"

"Bella."

"Hello, Edward,"she said, coming into the room. "I'm finally back. Did you miss me?"


	10. Chapter 10

Bella laughed before Edward could reply. "I'm kidding, I know you didn't miss me."

Edward was glad that Nessie and Alec were upstairs. He hoped they wouldn't come back down until morning.

"How have you been?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

"Pathetically lonely, but I'll live. I don't have a choice on living anymore." She sighed then. "Is that her?"

() had curled into a tight ball and was feigning sleep.

"Yes," Edward said. "She's extremely tired, so please, don't pester her. She isn't strong enough, physically or emotionally."

"Yeah? What's her damsel in distress story?"

"Bella..."

"What? It's no secret, the type of girl you like."

"She's had a very hard life, Bella. I'd thank you not to turn it into a fetish. She truly needed somebody to help her out and I don't appreciate you making fun of that."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Now I know how Jacob felt with you being so protective."

"I have to be. Since you really want to know, I'll tell you just to ease your curiosity. She was orphaned when she when she was three, and nobody ever adopted her. She's been moved around from place to place and finally ended up in Washington. Then she ended up in an impossibly tiny house with eight other children and a foster mother who abused her. I'm the only person who's ever cared for her and given her a purpose in life. She needs me."

"What happens when she doesn't need you?" Bella asked. "Once she's accustomed to living here, are you going to give up on her and chuck her aside like me?"

"Why are you still trying to pin it on me, Bella? You're the one who started an argument and picked at it until I blew up. You just couldn't leave things alone! You're the one who left, not me! You moved half-way across the country with our Nessie. I waited for you to call or to write for months, but you wouldn't even text! You keep trying to blame me, but you're the one who took away everything I loved and never looked back."

"But Edward, I – I had no idea you felt that way. You were so angry with me then and I was afraid of you."

"Now you know, then. Maybe it could have been different if we had actually talked after that, but what's done is done. I love () and I'm not going to leave her stranded the way everyone else has. All that I can offer is for you to still be part of our lives. She'll be Nessie's step-mother and you can be special to our children, if you'd like that."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess that'd be nice."Bella sighed. "Where are they?"

"In here, but so is (). We've had quite a busy day and she's exhausted."

"It's ok, Edward,"() said. "I'm awake."

"I'm sorry. You can sleep now, we'll take the babies into the other room."

"No, it's alright. I can sleep late tomorrow. Hi Bella."

"Hey. Are you feeling ok?"

() couldn't tell if Bella was sincere or not. She didn't want to increase the awkward silences, so she decided it was best to answer the questions.

"I'm a lot better then I was. I can actually get out of bed now. I really love your Nessie, by the way. She's so sweet."

"Thanks. She's a good girl. At least, I assume she is. She's with Alec, so I don't see her every day. I'm pretty much alone most of the time."

"Speaking of Nessie, she's upstairs," Edward said, trying to change the subject before Bella sent () on a guilt trip. "She loves the babies so much. They seem to like her too." He scooted the bassinet over toward Bella then.

"Wow, they look just like her," Bella smiled. "They're just tiny. Are they vampires?"

"They are, but much more human then Nessie. Our daughter is almost entirely. She's Addison. Our son is Jesse. He'll probably be more like Nessie then not. He certainly likes blood, anyway."

"They're both beautiful. Really." It appeared as if she meant it. "Has Jacob been by lately?"

"Yes, they're little one is growing so fast," Edward replied. "She's cute as a button too. She definitely has his personality. She has a huge smile and it doesn't take much to make her laugh."

"She sounds adorable. He sent me some pictures but she was still pretty new. I can't wait to see her."

All of them continued with rather stiff small talk. There was obviously the scenario of the elephant in the room that everyone avoided mentioning. () finally dozed off, more out of boredom then exhaustion. It became extremely awkward then and Bella finally decided to take leave. Edward showed her out.

"Hey... I really am sorry. I never meant for this to happen to us."

"Edward, don't. Apologizing just makes it worse. You've made your choice. I can move on now. It hurts worse then anything, but I can do it. Thank you for tonight though. That was brave of you."

"No, thank you for behaving. I'm still here for you, you know. I always will be. Don't think you have to go through life alone. We still love you for who you are – and for being Nessie's mother."

"I love all of you too. I'll see you around. Right now, I've got a dog to bother." With that, she took off.

Edward shut the door and turned to see Carlisle behind him.

"She was right, Edward. That took a lot of courage. I'm extremely proud of you."

"I know, but Carlisle... deep down, I still miss her terribly. I still love her."

"That isn't unusual, son. It's not easy to let go, especially not of your first love. It will heal though and you'll be able to love () completely. Probably more so then you loved Bella."

Carlisle rumpled Edward's permanently messy hair, then Edward crawled into bed next to (). He could feel the closure now that Bella has mentioned. It was easier to let go now and to look forward to a new forever.

(( 2 years later))

Edward, (), Jacob and Andrea were sitting in the living room of the Cullen's house, having coffee. Edward's mug was filled with warm blood. They were chatting about old times and updating each other on their kids.

The Cullens were glad that Jacob and Andrea had children at the twins age. Rosalie and Alice had enrolled theirs into preschool, much to the twins dismay. They loved each other, of course, but Jesse and Simon had become fast friends, just as Lucy, Maxine and Addison had. They missed their companions so much through the day that they'd taken to crying in the morning if they were awake to see them leave.

Jacob and Andrea were more then happy to bring their kids to the Cullens. A few months after Andrea had first conceived, she had found that she was pregnant again. They'd had a son. Unfortunately, the Blacks had been in a very severe car accident. The little one had had such a trauma inside of her that it had rattled his tiny brain. Shortly after the birth, Carlisle determined their son to be touched with Autism.

It wasn't severe, but enough that he would always be a bit behind the other children his age. Other then having learning disabilities, he would be completely normal. Being behind though had caused him to be shy. He clung to his parents and wasn't eager to play with the twins when they visited Edward and (). He was very taken by Esme though, not having a grandmother of his own. Esme loved him right back. He reminded her exactly of the son she had lost those many years ago.

Everything was very relaxed as the couples lounged on the sofas. The children had been playing a little ways behind them. Suddenly it grew very quiet. Then Addison burst into noisy tears.

The adults quickly looked over to them, seeing little Jackie standing over her with a plastic frying pan in her hand.

"Miiiine!" She yelled, bopping Addison with it again.

Seeing his sister in peril, Jesse yelled, grabbing Jackie and biting her arm.

"Jaquelyn Sarah!"

"Jesse Edward!"

Andrea and Edward scolded at the same time, raising their voices slightly. She got up grabbed her toddler by the hand. Edward picked Jesse up and took him to the stairs.

"Jesse, that was a very bad choice. You never, never bite anybody! That is not acceptable behavior at all!"

"But...but sissy...!"

"Yes, I know that sissy was getting hurt. Thank you for trying to help her, but biting is not ok, Jesse. You're going to sit here for two minutes for making that bad decision."

Edward got up and walked away, Jesse whimpering behind him. Meanwhile, Andrea was busy scolding Jackie for hitting. She had been placed in a plastic chair in the corner, still wailing that the frying pan was hers. When Andrea stepped away, Edward went to her.

"Andrea, I'm so, so sorry. Is she alright?"

She laughed. "Yes, I don't think she even noticed. She's only concerned about the toy. I know Jesse only wanted to protect her, and I expect that."

"That doesn't make it ok though."

"Yeah, I know it. Is Addy alright?"

"She'll be just fine. She's taken worse hits from brother."

They all laughed. Two minutes ended quickly and they went back to comfort their children.

"I love you very much, Jesse," Edward said. "But I don't like it when you bite your friends like that. That's not good."

"I is sowwy dad-dad."

"Thank you, son. Are you going to do that again?"

"Nooo!"

"No, what?"

"Jesse no bite."

"Yeah, that's my good boy! Can I have a hug?"

Jesse jumped into his arms and snuggled. Edward took him back to Addison and the children began playing again as if nothing had happened. All of the action had really unsettled (?). He was standing on Jacob's lap and crying. Esme came into the room, asking if she could take him. Jacob was relieved to give him to his grandma.

"Hello, ()," she said softly, rubbing his back. "You're alright little angel. It's fine now, big sister just got into a little squabble. It's ok! Would you like for me to hold you?"

He reached out to her, sniffling, big tears spilling from his brown eyes. She lifted him up and held him close. She wiped his face and gave him a big kiss.

"Shh, it's ok. You're safe." Esme showed him that the older ones were playing happily again. "See? The noise is all gone! They're all happy."

He blinked at the scene then put his arms around her neck. "Me-mah,"he said contentedly – his word for grandma.

"Yes, that's my special boy! Come on now, you help me-mah make cookies!"

"Yaaaay!"

Jacob sighed from the couch."Ohh, dear. Such drama."

"Yeah, but they're just babies," () said. "They don't see things how we do. It won't last long."

"I think it's kind of cute, even if it's hassle. They're so silly!"

"It is. We'll always be close, but when it's tough like this, we can be glad that it's the one thing that isn't going to last forever."

~* ~ THE END ~*~

(( FOR MY READERS: My next story will be a re-write of Breaking Dawn. I'd like to know 2 things!

Should Edward and Bella really be together forever? If not, I have a good idea of what to do with her!

Should there be a Nessie? If so, please know that she will not be Jacob's imprint. I've got some great plans for him!

Pleeease let me know, you're input is MUCH appreciated :) Thank you SO much! ))


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